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If you change your mind and decide that military service isn't for you - you can drop out of ROTC after your freshman year without any service obligation and without haven't to pay back any of the scholarship money owed.
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I'm not sure but I think may also be true at the academies ... anyone know for sure?</p>
<p>Back in the mid-70s when my brother-in-law was a cadet at West Point, you could drop out after TWO years and still incur no service obligation. I assume it is still the same today.</p>
<p>He said one joke on campus was that so many dropped out after two years that USCC (which stands for the United States Corps of Cadets - the formal name for the West Point student body) really stood for Uncle Sam's Community College.</p>
<p>Also, for the schools who do not offer ROTC on campus, due usually to conflicts with their statements of non-discrimination, most offer ROTC through another school. In terms of Ivies, Cornell is the only one to have full ROTC on campus. Princeton has a small Army ROTC, I believe. At the others, you would need to travel to another school. In the case of Yale, this would be U Conn, about 75 miles away.</p>
<p>I think you're a great candidate. Your parents should be proud. I'd be afraid if my kid enlisted in the army, but officers are usually in "safer" positions. Another benefit of a military career is early retirement. My friend went to West Point and retired at age 42 at a good percentage, and now has a 2nd career as a college prof.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>At the others, you would need to travel to another school. In the case of Yale, this would be U Conn, about 75 miles away.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>In the case of Harvard, you can take ROTC at MIT - just a few miles away.</p>
<p>EG,</p>
<p>coureur is correct. If, after 2 years, you determine that you are not interested in pursuing a military career, you may leave with no obligation.</p>
<p>Also, for more discussion on Ivies vs. a service academy, look up the posts from navgirl who is at Harvard doing NROTC and bostonusmc who is going through the decision process right now.</p>
<p>Do you really have no obligation after 2 years?</p>
<p>I had thought it changed to having to make a decision after your first year. Does anyone have documentation (e.g. a web page) that shows after how many years you can still change your mind for (1) one of the service academies or (2) ROTC?</p>
<p>"We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us?" attributed to George Orwell.</p>
<p>"...the ancient military quip, amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics."</p>
<p>Undergrad in applied math at Princeton followed by graduate work at MIT bringing skills with your ROTC commission that can really change the way we support our troops...</p>
<p>The book "Absolutely American," written three or four years ago, says that at USMA you don't have to make a committement until the beginning of junior year. I'd assume it's the same for the other academies. </p>
<p>As for the OP - I think you should listen to your parents. You're motivated by patriotism right now, and that's great. But as you get older you may develop a different understand of the situtation and decide that you didn't make the best decision. Doing ROTC at a top college (and while the military schools are fine academically, they are definetly a cut below the Ivies, especially in the liberal arts) gives you more options.</p>
<p>If I were you and had grades like that, I would go to the best college I could. You could go straight to the ivies! Don't waste your talent in the army, dude.</p>
<p>My BIL was at West Point in the mid-eighties, we discussed this a little at Christmas. The commitments have changed recently, but I can't remember the details, except years to payback vary now depending on which subspecialty you get - and aviation is longer because of the expense of training, I remember that specifically because he is/was helicopters. He was in the draw down years, and the military made it worth his while to NOT finish his commitment as regular army, he changed to reserves.</p>
<p>So does everyone think this is for real? We are so used to seeing outstanding resumes that nobody even blinks at a 2340 and a 4.0 uneweighted, plust the other stuff. But as far as I can tell there is only one girl in New England that runs a sub 5 minute mile, a senior who has commited to Boston College. If eclectic girl is for real she can go to any, ANY college she wants to. If not, I don't get the joke either.</p>
<p>it's not a joke. This is for real. You can tell.</p>
<p>Wait... excuse me for sounding a bit gender biased, but.. you are a girl who plays hockey and is captain? That is impressive.</p>
<p>Plz tell me that you actually run a sub 5 minute mile. As in, you run a mile that is 4:59 or lower. THAT IS NUTS. Please confirm that 4:59 or lower is what you meant. If so, wow, you are definitely going to beat the majority of men at West Point.</p>
<p>spiderman - We have a girl's hockey team at our HS. It is a winter sport. But any girl running under 5 minutes in the mile would probably be running winter track (and competing in national meets) , not playing hockey. Don't mean to nitpick.</p>
<p>Again, thank you for the advice. The best i ran it a meet last year was 5:12.8 I have done 5mins in practice and hope to break it in a meet.</p>
<p>Outstanding! Good luck with your running and your college search.</p>
<p>Definitely 2 years commitment free. DS is a youngster (sophomore) at USNA and will sign commitment papers on the first day of classes next year. Then, if they do not finish they are required to serve out the commitment as enlisted or repay an amount set by the academy. Also, they may be medically discharged. We have a young man from our community who will leave at the end of his second year after finding out about a chronic medical issue. Remember, they don't want someone who doesn't want to be there.</p>
<p>Are you able to transfer to colleges of a similar level or is it looked down upon by other colleges that you broke your commitment?</p>
<p>As mentioned in post 16, sexual harassment occurs and isn't something military acadamies will bring to your attention. I know someone who eventually left the naval academy after two years because she could no longer tolerate the treatment she received as a woman.</p>